In this lesson, we learn about the beginning, the middle and the end of  one complete &lsquo;time cycle&rsquo; of this world. More than anything else, we  will understand the great significance of the period we are undergoing  at present.<br />
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The world has been in existence since eternity and  it will continue to be eternal. The world was neither created anytime  before nor will it get destroyed later, because matter can neither be  created nor destroyed, it only undergoes transformation from one form to  another. Similarly this world also undergoes changes in its  characteristics, but as such the world was not created out of nothing  nor will there be a total annihilation.<br />
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The cycle of time is best  understood with the help of the picture of the world drama wheel. It  illustrates the &ldquo;flow&rdquo; of time. In the middle of it is the Fylfot (  Swastika ) which divides the Time into four equal parts. The Swastika is  considered to be very&nbsp; auspicious.<br />
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In the first part&nbsp; of this  Wheel of Time,&nbsp; marked by Swastika is shown Golden Age. Here the arm of  the Swastika is pointing towards right because the right arm symbolizes  what is good or what brings about goodness. In these early times, when  the cycle started, people of the diety religion ( Sanatan Dharma) were  possessed of divine qualities and nature and they enjoyed complete  purity, 100% peace and complete prosperity.<br />
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Then came the Silver  Age. In this era too, people were possessed of purity, peace and  prosperity to a very high degree. But the degree of their divine  qualities had decreased a little. They were two degrees less divine than  the people of the Golden Age who were divine to the extent of 16  degrees. Therefore the arm of Swastika that indicates this epoch is bent  downwards because souls in this era had come down from the state of  super-righteousness to what is just righteous.<br />
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Next came Copper  Age.After having experienced beatitude and fruition for many a life,  turned ti the path of vices or unrighteousness. This is why the arm is  reversed because the left hand symbolizes what is impure and auspicious.  People then were second-grade by their nature, qualities and actions.  Mankind is now divided on various religions; strifes and disputes  started to appear and the five vices brought disquiet and sorrow in  homes.<br />
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Steadily, unrighteous doings, ie the actions done under  the sway of one or the other of these five vices, led the world to more  and more impurity and sufferings and the world came under the yoke of  Iron Age ( Kaliyuga). Strifes, wars, bellicosity and the resulting  peacelessness increased rapidly in frequency and intensity in this era.  Therefore the fourth of Swastika is shown raising itself up to indicate  the rise in conflicts, clashes and calamities. Then, a stage comes when  ignorance, lassitude, stupor, moral turpitude and sin become dominant.  People become devilish by nature and religion becomes utterly  degenerate.<br />
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<strong>The Significance of the present period</strong><br />
At  present, we are undergoing through a critical phase in the history of  mankind.&nbsp; This is the period of the confluence of the ending phase of  the Iron Age and the starting phase of the Golden Age. This is the most  important of all epochs, called the Confluence Age, when God, the  Highest Being, descends in this world to meet the human beings, His  beloved children and gives the most precious boons of Redemption and  Beatitude.<br />
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Through the Godly Knowledge and the easy Raj Yoga, God  creates the Golden Age or new viceless order. The act of &lsquo;creation&rsquo;  does not mean constructing something out of nothing but it means the  moral reconstruction of mankind or the re-establishment of the ancient  most Deity Religion. The reader would be pleased to know or, perhaps,  surprised to know that God Shiva, the Supreme Father of all, is indeed  doing this great task of resurrection of mankind at present. The world  will soon be free of all miseries and the paradise, which is full of  peace and happiness, will be established again.<br />
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<strong>The Nature of the World Drama Cycle</strong><br />
The  cycle of five epochs, comprising Golden-Age, Silver Age, Copper-Age and  Iron Age and the confluence Age repeats exactly everytime after it has  turned full wheel. During every cycle, the souls who are the actors on  this world-drama stage will be the same. Each soul will act the same  part in every cycle since, in the soul itself is indelibly ingrained the  part it has played life after life in the previous cycle or that it has  to repeat cycle after cycle. Just as in a tape record or a gramophone  record, a whole song or drama is recorded and it repeats every time the  record is played, even so, a soul&rsquo;s role in this world drama is recorded  in the soul itself which is only self-luminous, conscient&nbsp; point.&nbsp; The  soul replays the part once every 5000 years because each one of the four  eras of the world-drama being equal to 1250 years, the duration of one  World Cycle is 5000 years.&nbsp;